Well, it’s basically the same story, isn’t it? A guy goes looking for his wife’s killer trying to make sense of her death.
Than later it is revealed that the protagonist might have issues himself.
It’s just that Memento is a far more satisfying viewing experience.
Hang on tightly, let go lightly
The only thing that is similar is that his wife was murdered....
shareThe plot/theme is definitely similar to both Memento and The Pledge, which came out just before this film. Yet I find it way more interesting, if hardly flawless, than the dreary puzzle-box of Memento. Fear X has a beautiful and hypnotic atmosphere you can really sink your teeth into, whereas Memento is just kind of a dry, clinical exercise in structural dynamics, arranging the pieces just so so that Nolan can have all his "gotcha!" moments throughout. It's too "clever" by half. I prefer the opaque, and possibly incomprehensible, expressionist style of Fear X, which is similarly postmodern in its rejection of the possibility of a single "truth," and yet has a very modernist visual/aural aesthetic which is seductive and ominous where Memento's is plain and workmanlike. I've seen Memento twice, yet I never find myself thinking about it, whereas various moments and locations and scenes from Fear X pop into my mind every now and then, and I've seen the film at least 4 or 5 times. I find it gets more mysterious and intriguing each time, whereas Memento just fell flat and became even more banal upon re-examination.
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